Waterbird
by Scarlett H. Hamilton
Summary: Co-authored with Raven Lynn Morrigan. A villains experiment takes Raven away from the only life she has ever known. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**I'm a shipper, I admit it. Raven and Robin isn't my absolute favorite. That would be Raven and Slade. I personally find it harder to write for Slade than I do for Robin, which is why I don't have any Raven and Slade pairings. Notes were made by Raven Lynn Morrigan before she decided that she wasn't going to fix this one that it was to be Raven and Aqualad. After reading my cousin's Terror Falls story, the Raven and Aqualad pairing is growing on me. The original version of this story left you scratching your head wondering WTF? An attempt at a rewrite was started by my cousin before she decided to abandon it. It was good but still had that head scratching WTF aspect to it. A third attempt was written out in an outline but never written before she decided to trash it. With her permission it is those third attempt notes along with the best parts of the first and second versions that I'm going to use to finish the story my cousin abandoned. This is set before Season 3 happened.**

**Waterbird**

*~**`1**~*

Even with all their high tech surveillance equipment in the city, Robin still insists on nightly patrols. This time its Raven's turn. She sighs as she comes to rest on the docks for a look around-thinking that this is pointless. Nothing seems to be out of order here, just like every place else she has been tonight. She freezes suddenly as she is about to take off again when she hears a splash in the water. It could be anything, some sea animal most likely but she goes to investigate. Its easier to do that than suffer the third degree from Robin over why she didn't check it out later. She finds nothing but gentle abating ripples in the water from what ever it was jumping in. Raven checks the area just to make sure its nothing. As she searches around some crates she cries out in pain as something stings her arm. She looks down to find its a hypo-dart. Raven looks up as the powerful sedative drags her down into unconsciousness. She blinks trying to make out the figure that looms over her but one seems to turn into two as she her vision fades to blackness.

*~**`'**~*

Raven awakens to an intensely painful feeling all over her scalp. She tries to move her hands to her head only to realize that her hands have been restrained. Its so cold. As she finally manages to open her eyes Raven sees that she is naked and strapped down to a metal table. She looks up as a shadow falls over her but she can't make out any features against the glare of the bright overhead lighting. She stares as the figure reaches out and grabs her hair. Raven is amazed and a little frightened as the strand of hair held out stretches out past her normal length and all the way down to her waist. "What are you doing to me?"

The figure pays little attention to Raven's question and continues its work.

She closes her eyes against the bright lights as the figure moves out of her field of vision. Raven looks to her left at the bank of computers that seem to be monitoring her vital signs. For what she has no idea. As the figure moves to her legs Raven realizes just how numb they and that her legs are not restrained to the table. She tries to move them but can't. Raven panics as the figure picks up a large knife. They may be numb but she can feel it as the knife is dragged down the inside of one leg splitting it open to the bone from pelvic area to the knee and then repeated down the other as well. She wants to look away but can't as her legs below the knees are turned with with her feet facing outward and cuts made from the back of her knees to the ankles. She cries out more in fear than pain as her legs are lined up and bound tight together with the bones touching between the split open skin. The sight of so much blood make her feel faint as the metal table she is strapped to begins to tilt up.

Once the table is perpendicular to the floor the figure presses a button that lowers it into a vat of mutagen chemicals that it is suspended over.

Raven looks down fearfully as she is lowered into the glowing chemicals. She screams at the searing pain as her cut flesh touches the chemicals. It is immense.

The figure looks over at the computers monitoring the girl's vital signs. Her heart rate spikes but as of right now it is nothing to that will hurt her. It continues to lower the table until the girl is immersed to the waist.

The numbness does nothing to dull the pain as the chemicals seep into her wounds. Raven screams louder as it feels like her very bones are breaking, reforming, and fusing together. She doesn't want to look but can't stop herself as she grows too hoarse to scream. Raven watches as her skin knits smoothly together along her reformed bones. The pain slowly begins to fade as the wounds close.

The figure presses another button raising Raven up enough for the bonds that held her legs in alignment to be cut away. It leaves her there pressing a button that dumps out the chemicals in the vat that have done their job. Another button is pressed that pulls Raven away from the table-leaving her hanging by her arms up above her head as a valve is released that dumps more chemicals into the vat.

There is more pain this time but less intense now like a tingling pinprick feeling as Raven is lowered into the chemicals from the waist down. It is harder to see what's happening this time as the chemicals are tinted the same color as her hair. She is weak from the amount of blood lost as her legs were split open and she drifts into unconsciouness.

Finally the figure presses the button raising Raven up so that only her feet are in the vat and adds one final chemical into the mix.


	2. Chapter 2

**Waterbird**

* * *

*~**`2**~*

When Raven awakens again she at first thinks she must have been dreaming about what happened before. Despite the pain it couldn't have possibly been real. As she opens her eyes she finds herself floating in a large cylindrical tank of water. She panics at first thinking she is going to drown but when she calms down she realizes she can breathe. Looking down it is confirmed it wasn't a dream as she finds that she no longer has two legs but a scale covered fish like tail the same color as her hair tapering down from her waist to her ankles and in place of feet she has two large translucent fins. She touches her hip in disbelief only to find she isn't seeing things. Its real...but why was this done to her, she wonders. She shrinks back scared as the face hovering over her before appears out of the shadows in front of the tank.

_"If you really must know, you are a test. If anyone were to survive it, I thought it would be one of you super powered do gooders. Now keep your thoughts to yourself."_

Raven looks up wide eyed as she realizes that this is Trident.

Before she has time to ponder the thought, in the shadows beyond her field of vision the door to the lab bursts open.

Trident turns toward the source of the unwelcome intrusion.

Tram speaks some unintelligible words as he runs off toward the bank of computers leaving Aqualad to face down the villain.

"Get out! You have no business here."

"If your business involves capturing and genetically altering humans for the entertainment of who ever is willing to provide you with toxic waste, then it very much concerns me."

"You're too late, if you came to save her."

Aqualad glances behind the villain to see someone immersed in a tank of water. Not just anyone, he quickly realizes that its Raven. He stops staring at her, she's no longer human but what surface dwellers think a mermaid looks like. A part of him has to admit that its a good look for her. Aqualad snaps out of it as Tram yells at the computer then whacks it with his hand.

Finally Tram gets the information he is looking for. He inserts a disk making copies of the data then he smashes the computer once he removes the disk and turns his attention to freeing Raven.

Raven looks down as Tram steps up to the tank. She puzzles over the words he mumbles but gets the meaning that he is going to get her out of here.

Tram knocks on the glass and decides breaking it is a bad idea. He searches all around the cylinder before he spots the opening on the top. Tram grows larger and pries it off, he holds his hand down into the water.

She takes Tram's hand letting him pull her out of the water. She expects to be unable to breathe air now that she has been changed but is relieved to find she has no trouble. Can she still use her powers to help defeat the villain she wonders. Using them to attempt an escape before she was experimented on never occurred to her. She tries now but she is so weak its too difficult to focus. Raven is aware that Tram is saying something to her but she soon slips back into unconsciousness.

*~**`'**~*

When Raven comes to she is resting in a shallow wading pool. She looks up as Aqualad sits down by her.

"Its good to see you finally awake. I was getting worried."

Raven looks around. "Where are we?"

"My place. I didn't think it was a good idea to take you all the way to Atlantis given how weak you are. Tram is gone to get the other Titans."

"Trident?"

"I stopped him. At least that one. There could still be some of his clones lurking about. How are you feeling?"

"Weak."

"Doctors from Atlantis came to check you out. You lost a lot of blood. They are taking a look at the data Tram lifted from the computer to see if they can change you back."

Raven looks down at her new body. For the first time in her life she actually feels beautiful. "What if I don't want to be changed back?"

Aqualad looks down at Raven stunned by her question. "Its your choice Raven."

She looks up startled, not having realized she had voiced her thoughts out loud. "He said I was an experiment."

"He was laying in wait on the surface waiting for you or Starfire to show up...maybe even Robin too."

"He said he thought someone super powered would survive the test."

Aqualad nods. "You were lucky to survive."

"How did you know what he was doing?"

"I got word that some rich nutcase was willing to supply him with toxic waste to make more clones, if he could produce the mythical equivalent of mermaids and mermen for his own private aquarium. Tram and I were on our way to stop him."

Raven looks at her new fish like tail. "Myth..."

"Real merpeople don't exactly fit the look of the myth. If you really want to stay like this then you realize what danger you could be in on the surface don't you?"

She shrugs, too tired to think about it right now. Raven would like nothing more right now than to drift off to sleep. Something does occur to her. "You said if."

"If what?"

"If I could be changed back."

"You were mutated. No one knows exactly how he did it or what chemicals he used yet."

Raven shudders from the memory of the pain. "It hurt so bad. I don't want to go through anything like that again."

"You should rest now. The other titans should be here in a few hours." Aqualad watches as she drifts off to sleep before he even finishes speaking. He touches her hair which also appears to have been mutated. Water doesn't soak the strands. Her hair is completely dry the moment it is removed from the water. There are other concerns to worry about with her if she is stuck in this form besides her safety on the surface. His mind swims with all the dangers she needs to be schooled on in the water. Can she even maintain her body temperature in the ocean? He couldn't imagine being stuck away from the water in some confined area? What if she were to be confined to some heated pool back on the surface? It would be better he thinks if she were changed back and returned to her life on the surface world, but at the same time a part of him doesn't want to see her go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Waterbird**

*~**`3**~*

Raven awakens again to talking in the background. She can feel several pairs of eyes on her before she even opens hers. Normally she would long for the cover of her cloak, but now she doesn't care who looks at her. She stretches her arms out yawning before she finally opens her eyes to find. Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire staring down at her.

They all quiet down as she looks up them.

Finally Starfire speaks up. "We have been very worried about you."

"Tram said you had been mutated but we didn't expect this." Beast Boy ducks as Cyborg tries to smack him in the head for that crack. "The look really suits you though."

Raven looks down at her new body. "I like the change." She catches sight of Robin who seems to look at her disapprovingly beneath his mask for that remark.

"Are you saying you want to stay like this?"

She nods as she looks up at Cyborg. Raven glances up at Robin. "If you knew what it felt like you wouldn't want to through a reversal process either, if it were possible."

Starfire kneels beside Raven. "You do not have to do anything you do not wish to."

Robin finally speaks up. "What about the team?"

"I'm stuck in the water now. I wouldn't be of any help."

Aqualad finally speaks up. "If the scientists in Atlantis find a way to reverse what was done to you then you might feel different. You should take sometime to think about it."

Robin nods in agreement with Aqualad's comment.

Cyborg speaks up. "If you wanted we could put a swimming pool in the tower for you."

Raven arches an eyebrow. "You want me to stay cooped up inside?"

"Not all the time." Robin looks down at Raven. "But imagine what would happen if the media, or any of the villains we fight got word of this."

"Its going to sound odd as much as I stayed up in my room, but I don't want to be cooped up inside anymore."

Aqualad approaches the Titans. "You are welcome to stay here, Raven."

"I would like that."

Robin scowls, he doesn't like the thought of losing one of his teammates.

Starfire looks up at Robin. "You must admit that she will be safer here."

Tram walks up speaking in his language.

Aqualad looks down at him before translating. "He says that she would be closer to the scientists who are working on what happened here." He motions Robin to follow him.

Robin follows Aqualad to the other side of the undersea cavern.

"I can tell you don't want to leave Raven here, but other than Triton himself, the scientists in Atlantis are going to be her best hope if she suffers any ill effects from what happened to her."

Robin nods grudgingly. "I don't like the way Raven is acting. This isn't like her at all."

"She normally has some pretty low self-esteem right?"

"Right."

Aqualad looks back at Raven. "Right now she seems to feel pretty good about herself. For possibly the first time in her whole life."

"I can understand that, but its almost like she is a whole different person."

"In a way she is."

Robin turns startled as Raven laughs at something one of the others say.

"I promise to look out for her, if she wants to stay here for now."

"I would rather her be here closer to help if she needs it." Robin looks at Aqualad. "Have you heard anything from these scientists yet?"

"No, nothing yet." Aqualad turns to Tram. "Tram did you find a sample of Raven's unaltered DNA at the tower?"

Tram holds up a container with a hairbrush inside and speaks in his language.

"He is going to take it over to Atlantis now."

Raven glances over wondering what Robin and Aqualad are discussing. She really doesn't want to go back to the surface. She hasn't been in this form long but in a way she feels like this is how she was always meant to be.

*~**`'**~*

Day...night...whatever it is up on the surface Raven is finally glad to see the others leave, or at least Robin anyway. She looks up at Aqualad. "Thank you...for letting me stay here."

"You're welcome. I could tell you were on the verge of getting upset. Robin is just worried about you and wants to make sure you are safe."

"He can also be pushy and bossy when he doesn't get what he wants."

"You really should think about this. Raven."

"I meant what I told the others. I couldn't go through that again, even if I wanted to." She shivers from the memory of the intense pain of her transformation.

"You should get some rest. If you feel up to it tomorrow maybe I could show you around a little."

"I would like that."


	4. Chapter 4

**Waterbird**

*~**`4**~*

When Raven awakens she feels much better. Not weak like before. If there were a marathon for deep sea swimmers she thinks she could race in it and maybe even win despite her lack of experience. She stretches before pulling herself up out of the shallow pool and sitting on the edge of it.

"You look rested."

Raven looks over her shoulder to see Aqualad approaching her. "Best sleep I have ever gotten. I feel so much better now."

"That's good to hear." Or is it he wonders. They don't yet know exactly what sort of chemicals it was that got into Raven's system during the mutation process and how they are going to affect her. He holds out a bowl of steaming liquid. "Tram made some of his famous Kelp stew. It may not sound very appetizing but once you can telepathically talk to a fish its impossible to eat seafood."

"I never liked seafood anyway." She takes the bowl as Aqualad sits down beside her. Raven lets it cool for a little bit before tasting it. "Wow! I swear this is better than pizza."

Aqualad looks back toward Tram. "Hear that?"

Tram mutters in his language before he jumps up. "Booyah!"

Raven smiles as she looks back at Tram.

"No one from the surface world has ever said that about his cooking."

"Do you get a lot of visitors from the surface?"

"Beast Boy drops by every now and then."

Raven sits down the bowl as she finishes eating. "I didn't get to thank you both for saving me form Trident."

Tram mutters some more in his language.

"We were just doing our job." Aqualad pauses for a few moments. "Feeling up for a little swim?"

"Sure, but I've never swam before."

"Don't worry. I'll help you get the hang of it." Aqualad stands up. "I know the perfect place nearby, you're going to love it." He picks up Raven and carries her over to the sea cave's entrance.

*~**`'**~*

Aqualad watches Raven amused as she swims about so carefree. Loops, corkscrews, twists, and twirls she almost seems to be dancing in the water with her moves. He should scold her into being more careful but he just can't bring himself to do it. Right now she exudes happiness and he can tell that is something she has never done before and he can't bring himself to interfere with it.

Raven stops looking back at him. _"What?"_

_"Beast Boy was right, that look really suits you."_

Despite the coolness of the water, Raven is sure that she is blushing.

_"Are you sure that you've never swam before?"_

_ "I've never been in anything bigger than a bath tub."_

_ "You look like a pro."_

Raven swims along as a group of dolphins join them.

Aqualad hangs back watching as they all seem to be performing some complex underwater ballet together.

Other sea creatures nearby even stop to look at Raven as they have never seen anything like her before.

Raven easily charms them all as she passes.

After the dolphins continue on their way, Aqualad leads Raven to a coral reef near Atlantis.

_"Its beautiful!"_

Aqualad thinks that nothing is as beautiful as Raven right now, but he keeps that thought to himself.

Raven hangs back just watching the fish and other sea creatures on the reef for awhile but soon she ventures closer.

He smiles watching as the fish swim around Raven. Aqualad thinks she looks very relaxed and at home here under the sea.

She laughs in delight as a tiny seahorse curls around her little finger. Raven feels like she has finally found the place she was always meant to be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Waterbird**

*~**`5**~*

Aqualad swims nearby Raven as she explores the reef, keeping tabs on all the dangerous creatures that she doesn't yet know about. He thinks again that if she is going to stay here there is so much that she needs to learn.

Raven stops suddenly. She was feeling so much better when she awoke, but now she doesn't feel well at all. She turns looking for Aqualad.

He quickly picks up on the change. Aqualad doesn't like how quickly it came over her as he swims to her. When he reaches out to her, despite the coolness of the water she feels very feverish.

She clings to him as he takes her in his arms. Raven isn't in pain like before, but she aches all over now as if she has come down with a bad case of the flu.

Rather than take her back to his place Aqualad rushes Raven to Atlantis so that the doctors can check her out.

*~**`'**~*

Aqualad waits as the doctors confer with the scientists. He looks down at Raven resting on an exam table once again unconscious. He looks up as one of the doctors approaches.

"The chemicals from the mutation process are at toxic levels in her system. There were early indications that perhaps they might be filtered and kept at low levels by her natural body processes. The mutation has caused complications and that has ceased to work now. The chemicals are building up and slowly poisoning her."

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

"We could attempt to filter her blood, but its only a temporary measure. The chemicals leached into her mutated bones. They will continue to be released into her bloodstream. I'm sorry but, eventually she is going to die."

Aqualad looks down at Raven in shock. He thinks that she has finally found something to make her happy only to have it snatched away from her.

Sometime after the doctor leaves them alone Raven opens her eyes and looks up at Aqualad.

"Raven-"

"-I heard."

"I'm sorry..."

"...I'm not. I would rather have one day like today, than spend years without experiencing something so amazing."

*~**`'**~*

One day...Aqualad looks over at the Titans. Thanks to the doctors she had gotten to have many more over the last year. He thinks they can all take comfort in the fact that she was happy at least in her new life as she passed on.

* * *

**It was intended but when I got to this part I just couldn't bring myself to actually write a death scene. If you hate the ending it has been marked tragedy all along so on some level you had to know that something bad was coming. No sequels, I'm just the editor who had to stick this in my account because my cousin refuses to claim it and post it in her own account.**


End file.
